A tiki-torch bearing crowd of about 50 white supremacist led by Richard Spencer reappeared on Saturday night in Charlottesville, VA gathering around a statue of Robert E. Lee in Emancipation Park chanting, “You will not replace us,” singing “Dixie,” and alternating between “Russia is our friend” and “the South will rise again.”

The Lee statue was covered with black tarps as it has been since shortly after an Aug. 11 rally of hundreds of white supremacists and the Aug. 12 killing of protester Heather Heyer, by Ohio white supremacist James Fields.

“We are here to represent white America’s interest,” Spencer shouted through a bull horn during a brief speech . The gathering lasted less than 20 minutes.

“It was a planned flash mob,” Spencer said. “It was a great success. We’ve been planning this for a long time.”

They promised to keep returning to Charlottesville, which they argued had become symbolic of their right to speak and also had come to symbolize the tearing down of symbols of the nation’s history.

“You will not erase us.”

“We are about our heritage. Not just us Virginians. Not just as Southerners. But as white people . . . we’ll take a stand.”

One Charlottesville city councilor is calling for the white supremacists to be arrested, saying, “When White Supremacists Make odes to White Power, and clearly use torches to send a message to our community that they are the superior race while trying to strike fear and intimidate others, they are breaking the law.”

Start at the 6 minute mark

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Will Kohler is one of America's best known LGBT historians, He is also a a accredited journalist and the owner of Back2Stonewall.com.
A longtime gay activist Will fought on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic with ACT-UP and continues fighting today for LGBT acceptance and full equality.
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